Clip-type electrical fence insulator

ABSTRACT

An electrical fence insulator comprising a spring clip with apertures adapted to engage a fence post and a body member of a plastic material having electrical wire engaging hooks, and a channel engaging the spring clip.

United States Patent [191 Wilson Aug. 14, 1973 CLIP-TYPE ELECTRICALFENCE INSULATOR [75 i lnventor: Robert M. Wilson, Battle Creek,

Mich.

[73] Assignee: Dare Products Incorporated,

Battle Creek, Mich.

22 Filed: 0ct.30, 1972 21 Appl. No.: 302,294

[52] US. Cl. 174/163 F, 174/175, 248/295 [51] Int. Cl. H0lb 17/16, A011:3/00 [58] Field of Search 174/45 R, 158 R,

174/158 F, 161 R, 161 F, 163 R, 163 F, 175; D26/10; 248/125, 295; 256/10[56] Reierences Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS D210,729 4/1968 Epp et a1D26/10 3,071,640 1/1963 Langlie et a1 174/158 F 3,456,067 7/1969 Wilson174/161 F 3,654,383 4/1972 Wilson 174/163 F FOREIGN PATENTS ORAPPLICATIONS 478,356 11/1951 Canada [74/158 R 1,096,630 2/1955 France174/158 F 754,239 8/1956 Great Britain 174/158 F PrimaryErgminep-Laramie E. Askin Attorney-Roy A. Plant and Samuel KurlandskyABSTRACT An electrical fence insulator comprising a spring clip withapertures adapted to engage a fence post and a body member of a plasticmaterial having electrical wire engaging hooks, and a channel engagingthe spring clip.

15 Claims, 12 Drawing Figures Patented Aug. 14, 1973 3,752,902

2 Sheets-Sheet l Patented Aug. 14, 1973 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 CLIP-TYPEELECTRICAL FENCE lINSULATOR BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Electrical fenceinsulators comprising a spring clip adapted to engage a fence post andhaving a plastic insulator body with electrical wire engaging hooks arewell knownin the art. In insulators of the type described, the plasticinsulator body is riveted to the SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly,it is an object of the present invention to provide an electricalinsulator for use with electrical fences, the insulator having a bodymember molded of a plastic material and having a spring clip foraffixing the insulator to a fence post.

It is a further object to provide an insulator of the type describedwhich does not require a rivet for affixing the body member to thespring clip.

It is still further an object toprovide an insulator assembly in whichthe body member to be used with the spring clip may be more simplymolded with less complicated and less expensive molds.

It is still further an object to provide such an insulator assemblywhich may be securely affixed to a fence post and which when so securedremains in operational service over extended periods of time withoutattention.

Still further objects and advantages of the invention will appear as thedescription proceeds.

To the accomplishment of the foregoing and related ends, the invention,then, consists of the useful electrical insulator herein fully describedand particularly pointed out in the claims, the annexed drawings, andthe following description setting forth in detail certain illustrativeembodiments of the invention, such disclosed embodiments illustrating,however, but several of the various ways in which the principle of theinvention may be used.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view showingan insulator assembly according to the invention mounted on acylindrical post.

FIG. 2 is a front view of the insulator.

FIG. 3 is a top plan view.

FIG. 4 is a side elevational view.

FIG. 5 is a top view of an insulator body constituting anotherembodiment of the invention.

FIG. 6 is a side elevational view of the insulator body shown in FIG. 5.

FIG. 7 is a plan view of a spring clip of one embodiment of theinvention.

FIG. 8 is a plan view of a spring clip of another embodiment of theinvention.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view illustrating an angle post having aninsulator of the invention mounted thereon.

FIG. 10 is a side view of a further modified embodiment of theinvention.

FIG. 11 is a front view of the insulator shown in FIG. 10, and

FIG. 12 is a top view of the insulator body shown in FIGS. 10 and 11.

DESCRIPTION OF THE SPECIFIC EMBODIMENTS Referring to FIGS. [-4, theinsulator assembly 10 of the invention is shown, comprising a bodymember 11 and a spring clip 12 mounted on a metal fence post 13 in theform of a rod of circular cross-section. The body member 11 is moldedfrom a plastic material and comprises a sleeve 14 comprised of a supportweb 15 having wire-engaging hooks 16 and 17 integrally mounted thereon,and a channel-forming web 18 cooperating with the support web 15 todefine a channel 19. The hooks are of a form previously known in theart. A wire 20 is supported and restrained by the hooks I6 and 17. Thespring clip 12 is provided with apertures 21 and 22 for receiving andengaging the post 13. The apertures 21 and 22 are provided withserrations 23 and 24 for preventing rotational movement of the springclip 12.

In mounting the insulator on a post, the spring clip l2 is firstinserted through the channel 19 of the sleeve 14. The spring clip 12 isthen bowed by compressing the ends together and mounted on the fencepost 13 with the fence post disposed within the apertures 21 and 22.When the ends of the clip are released, the resilience of the springclip causes it to engage the fence post with considerable force and tomaintain the insulator in position. The serrations 23 and 24 prevent thespring clip from revolving about the fence post. The bowing of thespring clip also causes the sleeve 14 to be frictionally engaged by thespring clip 12 and the insulator is thereby prevented from sliding alongthe spring clip.

The body member may be molded of any suitable plastic such as linearpolyethylene, polypropylene, polyvinyl chloride, polyurethane,polycarbonate, nylon, and other plastic materials such as artificial ornatural rubber. The spring clip 12 may be made of any suitable materialsuch as steel or other metals providing sufficient resilience tomaintain the clip engaged with the pole. It may also be made of suitableplastic materials.

Referring to FIGS. 5 and 6, another embodiment of the invention is shownwith the insulator comprising a body member 25 having a core 26 withtransverse flanges 27 and 28 integral therewith. The insulator 25additionally includes an integral loop 29 mounted on the support webflange 27 cooperating to form a channel 30 for receiving and engaging aspring clip such as that designated by the numeral 12 in FIG. 1, andwireengaging hooks 31 and 32 defining with the core 26 a wire-receivingchannel 33.

The insulator of FIGS. 4 and 5 is mounted in a manner similar to that ofFIGS. 1-4. A spring clip 12 is inserted into the channel 30 defined bythe loop 29 and flange 27. The spring clip is bowed and placed over afence post in a manner similar to that shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 7 illustrates a spring clip 34 which may be utilized with either ofthe insulator bodies shown in FIGS. 1-6. The spring clip 34 is providedwith apertures 35 and 36 contoured to receive a round post, and havingserrations 37 and 38 to restrain the spring clip 34 from rotating aboutthe fence post. Additionally, a detent aperture 39 is provided forengaging a detent protuberance 41 provided in the insulator body 60shown in FIGS. 11 and 12.

' FIG. 8 illustrates a spring clip 42 having apertures 43 and 44 so cutas to permit the spring clip to be utilized with fence posts havingeither a T-form cross-section or an angle cross-section. A fence post 45having a T-form cross-section is shown positioned in the aperture 43. Adetent aperture 46 is provided for use with a detent protuberance 41such as shown in FIGS. 11 and 12.

FIG. 9 illustrates an insulator body as shown in FIGS. 1-4, utilizing aspring clip 42 as shown in FIG. 8, and mounted on an angle post 50. Inorder to clear the lugs 51 as the clip is being mounted, slots 52 and 53are provided in the apertures 43 and 44. Additionally, slots 54 and 55(FIG. 8) are provided to engage the angle leg of an angle post, andslots 56 and 57 are provided to clear the leg of a T-form post.

Referring to FIGS. -12, still another embodiment of the invention isshown having a body member 60 comprising a support web in the form of aflange 61. Instead of being formed as a sleeve as in FIGS. 1-9, angleflanges 62 and 63 are formed as extensions of the flange 61 and definetherewith a channel 64 adapted to receive and retain a spring clip suchas shown in FIGS. 7 and 8. A detent protuberance 41 is provided toengage the apertures 39 or 46 in order to prevent the spring clip 34 or42 from sliding. Additionally, wireretaininghooks 65 and 66 are mountedon the support web or front face of the flange 61.

The insulator of the present invention is assembled and mounted bytaking a spring clip such as shown in FIGS. 7 or 8 and sliding it intochannels 19, 30 or 64 of the insulator bodies 11, 25 or 60,respectively. If a detent protuberance 41 is utilized, it is insertedin. the apertures 39 or 46. The spring clip is then bowed and mountedover the fence post with thepost disposed in the apertures 35 and 36(FIG. 7), or 43 and 44 (FIG. 8). The bowing of the spring clip providesa spring force which engages the body member and prevents it fromsliding during use. The insulator body then becomes firmly affixed tothe fence post. If desired, serrations 23 and 24 or 37 and 38 maybeprovided to prevent the insulator assembly from rotating about the fencepost. The use of the protuberance 41 in combination with the apertures39 and 46 may be desirable in certain cases but may generally bedispensed with.

The spring clip insulator of the present invention has a number ofadvantages over prior art insulators. First,

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property orprivilege is claimed are defined as follows:

1. An electrical insulator comprising a body member having a supportweb, means cooperating with said support web defining a channel on oneside of said support web, and wire-engaging and supporting means mountedon another side of said support web, and an elongated strap-form springclip having an aperture at each end for mounting over a post disposedand retained within the channel of said body member.

2. An electrical insulator body member according to claim 1, whereinsaid support web and said means cooperating therewith form a continuoussleeve defining said channel therein.

3. An electrical insulator body member according to claim 1, whereinsaid means defining a channel comprises a pair of flanges at the edgesof said support web and directed toward each other with their endsspaced apart.

4. An electrical insulator body member according to claim 1, whereinsaid support web comprises a plate extending beyond said wire-engagingand supporting means, thereby providing a long path to preventelectrical short circuiting.

5. An electrical insulator body member according to claim 1, whereinsaid support web comprises a pair of spaced-apart flange plates having acore connectedto the centers of said plates. I

6. An electrical insulator body member according to claim 1, wherein adetent protuberance is. provided on an inner wall of said channelengaging an aperture provided in said spring clip.

the spring clip may be readily stamped from proper I stock metal. Theinsulator body may be readily integrally molded from a suitable plasticmaterial. Moreover, it is not necessary as is the case with prior artinsulators of similar type, to permanently affix the insulator body tothe spring clip. Instead, it is merely necessary to slide the springclip into the channel of the sleeve of the insulator body prior tobowing the spring clip and mounting it over the post. The bending of theclip provides sufficient force within the insulator body channel tofirmly maintain the insulator body in fixed position.

While but several forms of the invention have been shown and described,other fonns within the spirit and scope of the invention will now beapparent to those skilled in the art. Therefore, the embodiments shownin the drawings are to be considered as merely setting forth the usefularticle of manufacture for illustrative purposes, and are not intendedto limit the scope of the invention herein described, shown and claimed.

7. An electrical insulator body member according to claim 1, whereinsaid wire-engaging and supporting means comprises a pair of spaced-apartfingers mounted on said support web and having hook portions oppositelydirected.

8. An electrical insulator comprising in combination a body memberintegrally formed of a plastic material and an elongate strap-formspring clip, said body member comprising a support web, meanscooperating with said support web to define a channel on one side ofsaid support web having said spring clip disposed and retained therein,and wire-engaging and supporting means mounted on another side of saidsupport web, said spring clip having a post-engaging aperture at eachend, whereby said spring clip may be bowed and placed over the end of apost with said post disposed within the apertures at the ends of saidspring clip, said insulator being securely retained on said post.

9. An electrical insulator according to claim 8, wherein said supportweb and said means cooperating therewith form a continuous sleevedefining said channel therein.

10. An electrical insulator according to claim 8, wherein said meansdefining a channel comprises a pair of flanges affixed to the edges ofsaid support web and directed toward each other with their ends spacedapart.

11. An electrical insulator according to claim 8, wherein said supportweb comprises a plate extending beyond said wire-engaging and supportingmeans, thereby providing a long path to prevent electrical shortcircuiting.

12. An electrical insulator according to claim 8, wherein said supportweb comprises a pair of spacedprises a pair of spaced-apart fingersmounted on said support web and having hook portions oppositelydirected.

15. An electrical insulator according to claim 8, wherein the aperturesprovided at the ends of said spring clip are provided with serrations toprevent rotation of said insulator on a post on which it is mounted. k 3=3

1. An electrical insulator comprising a body member having a supportweb, means cooperating with said support web defining a channel on oneside of said support web, and wire-engaging and supporting means mountedon another side of said support web, and an elongated strap-form springclip having an aperture at each end for mounting over a post disposedand retained within the channel of said body member.
 2. An electricalinsulator body member according to claim 1, wherein said support web andsaid means cooperating therewith form a continuous sleeve defining saidchannel therein.
 3. An electrical insulator body member according toclaim 1, wherein said means defining a channel comprises a pair offlanges at the edges of said support web and directed toward each otherwith their ends spaced apart.
 4. An electrical insulator body memberaccording to claim 1, wherein said support web comprises a plateextending beyond said wire-engaging and supporting means, therebyproviding a long path to prevent elEctrical short circuiting.
 5. Anelectrical insulator body member according to claim 1, wherein saidsupport web comprises a pair of spaced-apart flange plates having a coreconnected to the centers of said plates.
 6. An electrical insulator bodymember according to claim 1, wherein a detent protuberance is providedon an inner wall of said channel engaging an aperture provided in saidspring clip.
 7. An electrical insulator body member according to claim1, wherein said wire-engaging and supporting means comprises a pair ofspaced-apart fingers mounted on said support web and having hookportions oppositely directed.
 8. An electrical insulator comprising incombination a body member integrally formed of a plastic material and anelongate strap-form spring clip, said body member comprising a supportweb, means cooperating with said support web to define a channel on oneside of said support web having said spring clip disposed and retainedtherein, and wire-engaging and supporting means mounted on another sideof said support web, said spring clip having a post-engaging aperture ateach end, whereby said spring clip may be bowed and placed over the endof a post with said post disposed within the apertures at the ends ofsaid spring clip, said insulator being securely retained on said post.9. An electrical insulator according to claim 8, wherein said supportweb and said means cooperating therewith form a continuous sleevedefining said channel therein.
 10. An electrical insulator according toclaim 8, wherein said means defining a channel comprises a pair offlanges affixed to the edges of said support web and directed towardeach other with their ends spaced apart.
 11. An electrical insulatoraccording to claim 8, wherein said support web comprises a plateextending beyond said wire-engaging and supporting means, therebyproviding a long path to prevent electrical short circuiting.
 12. Anelectrical insulator according to claim 8, wherein said support webcomprises a pair of spaced-apart plates having a core connected to thecenters of said plates.
 13. An electrical insulator according to claim8, wherein a detent protuberance is provided on an inner wall of saidchannel engaging an aperture provided in said spring clip.
 14. Anelectrical insulator according to claim 8, wherein said wire-engagingand supporting means comprises a pair of spaced-apart fingers mounted onsaid support web and having hook portions oppositely directed.
 15. Anelectrical insulator according to claim 8, wherein the aperturesprovided at the ends of said spring clip are provided with serrations toprevent rotation of said insulator on a post on which it is mounted.